vberkesch Posted September 6, 2008 Share Posted September 6, 2008 Hi all, I'm just about to make my first batch ever of CP soap. Question for you - what is the shelf life of CP soaps. I was at a craft fair where there was some CP soap sold & I felt the soap had a musty almost old/rancid smell. I DON'T want this to happen!! How do I keep this from happening. Thank you all, this site is a blessing, Vanessa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heirloomoriginals Posted September 6, 2008 Share Posted September 6, 2008 CP soap only gets better as it ages, unless it gets dos (dreaded orange spots) which means that the oils have gone rancid. If it has gone bad, you will know!Steph Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topofmurrayhill Posted September 6, 2008 Share Posted September 6, 2008 There's no general answer to that. Depending on what oils you use, CP soap can go bad quickly or last a long, long time. Various things besides the recipe affect shelf life, such as (but not limited to) whether you add any stabilizers and how you store the soap. Fragrances and colors can fade, some more than others.If shelf life is important to you, probably the first thing to consider is the choice of oils. The main issue is the type of fatty acids in the liquid oils you use. Soapcalc.com is a convenient place to look this up. Click on any oil in the calculator and it will show you the approximate fatty acid profile. You'll notice that oils tend to fall into certain categories.Linolenic oils like flax seed are very fragile and not good soaping oils.Linoleic oils like soybean and many others are also not particularly good soaping oils. They should either be avoided or used in small quantities to tweak a recipe. Linoleic acid isn't very stable and in large quantities doesn't make very good soap.Oleic oils like olive are the best choice for your liquid oils.Rice bran is a popular soaping oil that contains mainly stable fatty acids but also has a good helping of linoleic acid. You can use it as a significant percentage of your oils as long as there are no linoleic oils in the recipe. In the interests of stability and balance, I'd keep it below 30% personally.A well formulated soap isn't too fragile, but it's a good idea to avoid heat and humidity if you can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8-GRAN-ONES Posted September 6, 2008 Share Posted September 6, 2008 Top...What Stabilizers do you recommend?I have wondered this question too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topofmurrayhill Posted September 6, 2008 Share Posted September 6, 2008 Top...What Stabilizers do you recommend?I have wondered this question too?All my info about that is from James Dunn of cavemanchemistry.com.ROE (rosemary oleoresin extract) is supposed to be effective, but I found it affects the color and fragrance of the soap. The other recommendation from Dunn is a combination of EDTA and BHT. You can find more info on his site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doris Posted September 6, 2008 Share Posted September 6, 2008 I still have a few bars of soap from I think 2000 that are still good. The scent does fade quite a bit, but it is lovely soap otherwise. Age doesn't necessarily mean bad. New soaps can go rancid as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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